


Multitasking

by SonjaJade



Series: Little Treasures [13]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Chores, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Parenthood, Teaching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 11:16:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20435102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonjaJade/pseuds/SonjaJade
Summary: When you've got the right tools, chores are much easier. When chores are much easier, your mood improves really quickly.





	Multitasking

**Author's Note:**

> Moms Made Fullmetal Week- Day 5- Comfort/Anger/Release

“That’s not fair, dad!” James shouted fiercely, causing Winry to look up from the automail catalogue she was perusing.

“Well, I think it’s really fair, considering I asked you to clean up this mess an hour ago!” Edward shouted in return. There was a sound that reminded Winry of when she’d sweep up the shop floor after a project, all while her oldest child hollered as if the world’s greatest injustices were happening to him all at once.

“Now, take this out to the trash bins and weed the garden like I asked, or I do I have to take away something else?”

There was a little growl of frustration, then silence. Moments later, the screen door was flung open and James was storming out of the house, a trash bag over his shoulder and a scowl on his young face. His shoelaces nearly tripped him twice, but he made it to the bins. Winry watched him duck into the shed and come back out with a little trowel, and that’s when she decided to get up to check on him.

He was in their vegetable patch, on his knees and awkwardly stabbing at the soil, making more of a mess than actually weeding. “What’s going on, kiddo?”

“Dad’s a jerk,” he snarled.

She rolled her eyes while he was focused on the little clump of grass that had sprouted between some cucumber plants, then squatted down beside him. “What happened?”

He told her an emotional tale about how he was supposed to be cleaning up the playroom because Ed had asked him to help so he could feed the two little ones. James swore he was cleaning, but his father did not agree.

“I tried to tell him that mess was too big for one kid to clean up! My hands are lots littler than his, I can’t go as fast as him!” He said Ed took away his toys for the rest of the day for dilly-dallying and here he was, in the dirt, failing at this task, too.

She shook her head as she stood up. “A job is a lot easier to do if you have the right tools. Come with me,” she said, walking back toward the shed. When he caught up, she took the trowel and hung it on the wall, then chose another tool- a thin metal thing that sort of looked like a bent screwdriver.

“This is a weeder. You put the the little notch under the weed, then push down on the handle. The weed will pop right out of the dirt, roots and all!” James was excited at how easy this task now seemed and Winry took a moment to show him what all the garden tools did. One that Mei had sent to them caught his eye in particular.

“What’s this do?” he asked, holding the tool out in front of him, examining the three prongs in the sunshine streaming in the doorway.

“That’s called a sai, Auntie Mei said they plant rice with it in Xing!” She took it from him and showed him how it worked. “You can use it to plant other things, too. This prong in the middle is long because it makes a nice deep hole for the seed to go in. When the shorter prongs touch the dirt, you stop. It also helps keep your rows straight.” She leaned down close to his ear. “You know what the best part is?”

“What?” he asked, eyes wide.

“You get to stab the dirt. If you’re having a bad day, it can make you feel better. Just put all your frustration and anger into stabbing the ground, and you’ll feel lots better.”

“Really?” 

“Yep. And the holes in the ground help aerate the soil, which is good for the dirt and the plants. You do three things with one action!”

He took the weeder and the sai and dashed back to the garden, sliding into the dirt on this shins and quickly pulling the weeds out of a small area, then stabbing the soil and grinning like a madman. He paused, then shouted, “I love weeding!”

Winry snorted as she approached the back porch. Ed stuck his head out the door and looked worriedly at his first born. When Winry was close enough, he asked her what was going on.

“Teaching him how to release his anger in healthy, productive ways.”

The boy was laughing, having a grand time popping the weeds out and making it easier for the earth to breathe. Ed smiled. “Multitasking. I like it.”

Winry slyly commented, “You should try it sometime, you hot head.”

“What do you think happens when I’m cutting wood?” he asked without missing a beat.

Winry conceded her defeat and joined him in the kitchen for a cold glass of lemonade.


End file.
